TC Winston

181 damaged schools to undergo reconstruction

Minister for Education Hon. Mahendra Reddy has assured members of the public that the one hundred and eighty-one schools that were damaged during TC Winston will be reconstructed by the end of the year. Hon. Reddy revealed this while responding to Opposition MP Hon. Salote Radrodro’s oral question. RADRODRO: “Can the Minister inform this House […]

Salote Qalubau

May 30, 2016 3:00 pm

Minister for Education Hon. Mahendra Reddy has assured members of the public that the one hundred and eighty-one schools that were damaged during TC Winston will be reconstructed by the end of the year.

Minister for Education Hon. Mahendra Reddy at South Taveuni Primary School post-TC Winston. The picture was taken on 16th March 2016. (MOE)

RADRODRO: “Can the Minister inform this House when will the re-building of classrooms and teachers quarters in badly affected areas like Ra, Koro, Coastal and Yacata will start ?.”

Hon. Reddy said 181 schools have been assessed by engineers and.packages will be given to various construction companies in the second week of June to begin with the construction of other affected schools.

REDDY: “The construction of schools requires finance, however I’ve just provided a brief overview and I suggest the honorable member redirect the question to the Ministry of finance.”

REDDY: “Once we have the start date then we can give the end date but overall Madam Speaker it is the desire of this Government to get infrastructure ready.”

In the second supplementary question, Hon. Radrodro asked the Education Minister when would he be able to table a report on the education sector to validate information that he had tabled since more than 80,000 students are still studying in tents across the country.

Hon. Reddy responded saying that there was a process to be followed before any construction work commences.

REDDY: “This is not sending one carpenter down to do the assesment, given the number of schools affected it takes time. 181 schools have been done and we are waiting for reports from maritime areas. The next step Madam Speaker is to get the contractors.”

He said given that the Ministry of Education was dealing with public funds, the process needed to be followed.

Meanwhile, Opposition MP Hon. Ruveni Nadalo is expected to question the Education Minister on the progress of the reconstruction works at the Queen Victoria School in tomorrow’s sitting.

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